The GAP insurance market has been upended in 2024, as a result of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) tackling concerns over how the products are sold by car dealers.
As a result, pretty much every car dealer in the land had to stop selling GAP insurance by 6 February 2024. Whether they will be able to resume selling GAP in the future is currently unknown, but it’s likely that many dealers won’t bother. We cover this in a lot more detail in a separate feature on the state of the GAP insurance market in 2024.
Online providers were not the target of the FCA actions, although some have been affected as they use the same insurance underwriters as the dealer groups. Other online GAP providers are still trading as normal.
We’ve long argued that you should never buy GAP insurance from a car dealer anyway, since you can get the same policy (or better) from online providers for much less money – sometimes 75% less.
Specialist GAP insurers have also always offered a far wider range of GAP products than car dealers, so you can tailor your cover to meet your precise needs. For more information, have a read of our guide to GAP insurance terminology.
We’ve rounded up some of the UK’s top GAP providers below. This list is going to be updated fairly regularly during 2024 as some providers are currently unable to trade (through no fault of their own).
ALA Insurance*
Competitively priced, ALA is one of the best-known GAP insurers around. They have a near-perfect reputation across both Vehicle Replacement and Return-to-Invoice policy type (for more info, read our guide to GAP insurance terminology).
Though not always the cheapest, the coverage is exceptionally fair, with no mileage restrictions, a claim period of 120 days and free-of-charge transfer option to place your previous policy against a new set of wheels if you change cars during your policy term.
ALA Insurance has been unaffected by the recent FCA intervention into the GAP insurance market, and continues to operate as normal.
- ALA Insurance has a special GAP insurance offer for The Car Expert readers*
MotorEasy*
URL: motoreasy.com/gap-insurance
GAP insurance is just one of the motoring services that MotorEasy offers its customers, with the company aiming to be a one-stop-shop for all your car ownership needs. What’s more, it supports commercial vehicles, provided they’re not over 3,500kg. MotorEasy’s service ratings are an “Excellent 4.7/5” on both Trust Pilot and eKomi, and it also has a five-star rating from Defaqto.
MotorEasy has found itself a loyal customer base with a really simple quote feature on its website. There is an overall mileage limit of 100,000 to be aware of and there’s no transfer option for the policy, meaning that your cover ends if you sell the car. However, you do get a pro-rata refund if you cancel outside the first 30 days.
MotorEasy was obliged to temporarily halt the sale of GAP insurance after the recent FCA intervention, but has now resumed offering GAP as normal, along with all its other motoring services.
Direct GAP
URL: directgap.co.uk
Direct GAP offers a full range of GAP insurance products and flexible T&Cs. They also promise to settle all claims within ten days.
On return-to-invoice and vehicle replacement GAP policies, you can transfer your cover to another vehicle or claim refund any unused portion of the policy if you sell the car.
Direct GAP has been unaffected by the recent FCA intervention into the GAP insurance market, and continues to operate as normal.
Platinum GAP
URL: platinumgap.co.uk
Platinum GAP is part of the same overall company as Direct GAP. It also offers a wide range of GAP insurance products and similar conditions to its sister company.
On return-to-invoice and vehicle replacement GAP policies, you can transfer your cover to another vehicle or claim refund any unused portion of the policy if you sell the car.
Platinum GAP has been unaffected by the recent FCA intervention into the GAP insurance market, and continues to operate as normal.
Total Loss GAP
URL: totallossgap.co.uk
Total Loss GAP offers a range of insurance products, not just GAP insurance. There’s scratch & dent cover, alloy wheel insurance, tyre insurance and more.
The company offers a full suite of GAP policies, so you should be able to find something that suits your needs, as long as your car is less than ten years old and has covered less than 100,000 miles.
Total Loss GAP has been unaffected by the recent FCA intervention into the GAP insurance market, and continues to operate as normal.
GAP Insurance 123
GAP Insurance 123 is a sister company to Total Loss GAP. It offers the same range of GAP policies, but not as many other insurance products. The terms and conditions are much the same.
The site is very wordy, with lengthy explanations to a lot of things but lacking clarity and ease of use. However, you should be able to find answers to any questions you might have.
GAP Insurance 123 has been unaffected by the recent FCA intervention into the GAP insurance market, and continues to operate as normal.
Gapinsurance.co.uk
URL: gapinsurance.co.uk
As the name suggests, GAPInsurance.co.uk is a company completely devoted to providing every kind of GAP to customers.
The company concentrates on best-selling and family vehicles, at the exclusion of high-performance cars and commercial vehicles, in order to deliver the best-possible value.
Unfortunately, GAPInsurace.co.uk has been caught up by the FCA’s intervention into the GAP insurance market, and as of February 2024 is unable to provide new GAP policies. Hopefully, this will be resolved shortly. We’ll update this page as soon as we have news.
More GAP insurance information
*The Car Expert has commercial partnerships with ALA Insurance and MotorEasy. If you click through to their websites and proceed to purchase a used car warranty, we may receive a small commission. This does not affect the price you pay.
Additional reporting by Cat Dow. This list was originally compiled in 2022, and was comprehensively updated in February 2024 to reflect the changes in the GAP insurance market.
